


Chance Encounter

by Herald_of_Dreams



Series: Star Wars Tales [3]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe, Drama, Family, Gen, Out of Character, ooc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-02
Updated: 2013-06-02
Packaged: 2017-12-13 17:07:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/826728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Herald_of_Dreams/pseuds/Herald_of_Dreams
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written in 2004. Darth Vader is sent to Tatooine to take care of a krayt dragon. He runs into his son, leader of the Nova Stars swoop gang and his appointed guide.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Chance Encounter

On Tatooine, everybody retreated from the twin suns in the summer. It was just the way things were here. The elders retreated to the bars and the young kids retreated to their hangouts and the drink cafes around town.

Lord Vader had walked into one of the drink cafes and found an old friend running it. His name was Seek and he was a former human slave. He now ran and owned the Sun Surprise, a local hangout for the young hotshot pilots around here.

Vader had lived in Mos Espa, not Anchorhead. But it was very similar. He was glad to see Seek, who had been an old friend. It was nice to see a familiar face, even if you don’t like the mission you’re on.

Vader had told Palpatine all those years ago that he would not lead a mission on Tatooine and here he was, on the old bat’s orders. There was a krayt dragon here that terrorized people and Palpatine had seen fit to send him.

The only problem was that Vader didn’t know the territory of the Jundland Wastes, which was where the krayt dragon lived. So he had come in here to ask if there was anybody who was either crazy enough or willing to lead him to it.

He was here with Admiral Pellaeon, who had never in his life heard of the world of Tatooine. The two of them had been friends since Vader had first come to Coruscant for Jedi training as Anakin Skywalker.

“Do you know any good trackers here?” He asked Seek.

“Yeah, a few. Depends on where you’re going.”

“The Jundland Wastes.”

“If you’re going there you’re going to get your best luck with one of our two crack groups. The young pilots.” He added at Vader’s slight confusion.

“Oh. What are they called? Do you recommend one more than the other?”

“They’re called the Black Aces and the Nova Stars. The Nova Stars are the ones that I’d recommend more, but you should hear the background of ‘em first.” Seek said easily.

“Come and sit down and I’ll tell you about them.”

Vader looked at Pellaeon and then nodded to Seek.

They followed the old slave to a back table and sat down.

“Both of them are good pilots, for the crafts they ride. The Black Aces ride nasty, loud swoops and the Nova Stars ride real quiet, fancy speederbikes. My son is part of that group. Let’s start with the Black Aces.”

“The Black Aces are recognizable for the tattoo on the back of their hands. It’s four cards, all aces, all black. Their leaders are two kids named Windy and Fixer. Fixer is a real bruiser of a kid, big and incredibly fast. Windy is a real sly, good-looking fellow with black hair and green eyes. They’re not too reputable for being nice and they hate it when the Nova Stars come out on top, which they do on most of the races around here.”

“The Nova Stars are recognizable in two ways. One is the three shooting stars on the sides of the speeder bikes, two is the black and crimson outfits that all of them wear. Their leader is a fifteen year old whom I just call lazuli-eyes, ‘cause his eyes are a real deep blue. He’s real smart, but kinda spooky, because his eyes are very cold. They have a real good reputation, after the first time when they scared the stormtroopers witless. All of ‘em are real talented and the leader is the very best. He used to race pods, but then joined the Nova Stars and took over there.”

“The Nova Stars sound like our best bet sir.” Pellaeon murmured.

Vader nodded, then asked Seek, “How can we contact them?”

“My son should be coming in from turning on a cooler anytime now and he can lead you there after he gets the go ahead from the leader.”

“They have a confirmation on letting people in?” Pellaeon asked in surprise.

“Yep. They also have coded phrases and stuff like that. The leader started this to keep the group secure.”

“He sounds like somebody who should be in the Imperial Military.” Vader mused thoughtfully.

“He’s applied for the Academy and received his confirmation last week to start training for a position in intelligence and the fighter squadrons.” Seek said with a grin.

Right then, Seek’s son jogged into the main cafe and walked over to them. He was wearing the dark black and crimson outfit, which was form hugging and stretchy.

“Jares, will you ask lazuli if these men can accompany you? They need a guide to a place in the Jundland Wastes.”

“Sure.” Jares shrugged and fetched a black comlink from the belt around his waist. He had brown hair and big brown eyes, a slim form and a tight, low voice. He was around eighteen years old and Vader was surprised that he followed a fifteen-year-old leader.

He flicked the comlink and talked quickly for a couple of minutes and then nodded and shut it off.

“You’re approved. Follow me.”

Vader and Pellaeon followed Jares out to three speeders, all in good shape. Vader neatly swung his large form onto the first and Pellaeon swung onto the second one less nimbly than he had.

Jares made Vader look rusty, flicking a small switch and swinging around so that his back was facing the speeder, he did a neat back flip and landed on a rumbling speederbike.

He laughed at their stunned expressions and swung the speeder around, leading them straight for the outskirts of town.

*

Vader followed, glad to be able to fly again on a speeder. The intense joy at being able to fly again was enough, but being able to fly on his favorite craft was extremely fun.

He was deeply reluctant to get off when they reached their destination, but did so anyway.

He followed Jares into a shelter for the bikes and was immediately captivated by the speeder that was parked next to Jares’s.

He admired good machines and this was a top class speederbike. A deep black color with a nonreflective surface, it was streamlined and deadly looking. The only other color on it was the silver of the switches and edges. Fancy and fast, Vader realized when he saw the top speedometer speed, which was around five hundred miles an hour.

“Custom made for our leader when he won last year’s Beggar’s Canyon run.” Jares quietly said. “He had to beat the Dug Sebulba to get it and he did, by 11/16th’s of an inch.”

“Sebulba’s still alive? I raced against him once, around twenty-seven years ago.” Vader said in surprise.

“Yeah, he’s still alive. And meaner than ever. Cranky too.”

Lord Vader and Pellaeon exchanged an amused glance and followed Jares into the cavern. It was dark and cool in here, with minimum lighting around an area with fourteen seats, one for each member. There were seven on each side of a desk with a large chair that was bathed in shadow, as was its occupant.

The half circle reminded Vader of the Council seats, but he pushed that out of his mind. Jares was walking toward a pool table, where the other thirteen were engaged in a game of sabacc. There was one that sat in the chair behind the desk and Vader guessed that he was the leader.

“Good afternoon. Seek told us that you were the one to come to on finding a tracker to lead us into the Jundland Wastes.” Vader said courteously.

“I know this.” A mildly deep voice said coldly.

Vader stood still, unsure of how to continue. “I am going after the krayt dragon that has been haunting the Wastes. I was raised on Tatooine, but only in Mos Espa. I would be willing to pay you four hundred credits to lead me to it.”

Several of the Stars gasped and Vader knew why. Four hundred credits could get them an elegant estate near the underground pools and that would make it easier on them to keep the speederbikes clean and cooled down, not to mention the water fights they could have.

“You are good at bribery, Lord Vader. Unfortunately for you, I know about your ways. That’s why Seek calls me lazuli-eyes. You tracked a Corellian Jedi Master down by name, didn’t you? Yes, you did. Her name was Maria Farals. She spelled her last name backwards, ‘Slaraf,’ and you switched it back.”

“I study people, my Lord. It is a habit that I have long had. It keeps me prepared for what comes my way.”

Vader was pretty stunned at how intelligent this kid was and he managed to say, “You must have a lot of time on your hands.”

“You have no idea, Lord Vader.” The mysterious figure answered. Several of the other pilots snickered darkly, getting a joke that only they knew.

Pellaeon was uncomfortable with this kid, who startled him badly. He was too smart and knew too much about them.

“Krayt dragons.” Muttered the leader. “I killed one of those things when I was younger. I still have the scar on my hand. They have nasty tempers and are incredibly fast for their size.”

He placed his long-fingered hands on the desk and Vader was drawn to their length and slenderness. They were obviously stronger than they looked and twisting from the back of his left hand to the palm was a knotted scar, jagged and vivid against the deeply tanned skin.

“I’ll lead you to it. We start tomorrow at 0700 in the morning.”

“Sounds good to me. Meet you then. You might want to carry a weapon.”

“Oh I will.”

Vader started to walk away, then hesitated. “One thing, could I see what you look like?”

In answer the mysterious figure got up out of the chair and walked around to the front of the desk and casually leaned against it.

Vader’s eyes widened at the sight of the kid, who was extremely good looking. He had fair skin; sun bleached blonde hair and deep pool-blue eyes. Tall, skinny and lithe, he had a dancer’s precise movement coupled with a powerful stride.

“What is your name?” Vader asked right before he walked out.

“Luke. Luke Skywalker.” Answered the leader calmly.

Lord Vader just about froze in place when he said that, but he managed to keep himself moving. They got to the speeder shed and Vader started it.

“That’s my son Pellaeon.” Vader croaked.

Pellaeon didn’t answer. He was as shocked as Vader to realize that that extremely cool-natured kid was his son. Pellaeon shuddered and said to Vader, “He was way too unnerving. I felt like I inferior back there.”

Vader nodded. He knew what Pellaeon meant. Vader had felt, oddly enough, like he was being interrogated. 

“Seek would probably know a bit about him. Maybe we should ask him a little bit more about Luke.” Pellaeon suggested.

Vader nodded and picked up the speed of the aircraft. He wanted to get back before it got too late.

He had to figure out what kind of person his son was before tomorrow.  
           *-*-*-*

Luke watched the two leaders of the Imperial Military leave, thoughtful.

Lord Vader he’d heard about, but the other one would take some investigation to recognize. He looked familiar. Luke had probably seen him around somewhere, he just couldn’t recall where.

“Jares, did you recognize the person that was with Lord Vader?”

Jares turned his head and said, “Yeah. His name is Admiral Pellaeon. He’s Corellian.”

“I wonder why he serves Lord Vader, of all military leaders.” Luke murmured. He knew about the razing of Corellia, which had nearly destroyed the second main city and had been led by Lord Vader.

“Don’t know, don’t care.” Jares muttered. His grandfather on his mother’s side was Corellian and hated Vader with a vengeance.

Luke cocked one eyebrow at his friend, the edges of his mouth twisting into a small smirk.

A loud bang sounded through the main room. Luke spun around and nodded at Jares to open the door.

Fixer and Windy walked in and every one of the Stars whirled around and glared at them, some going for the handles of vibroblades.

Fixer looked furious at something and it didn’t take Luke long to figure out what.

“You just think that you can bribe us out of the big deals, don’t you? Well guess what? You can’t!” Fixer shouted.

“What--?” Jares started to say.

“Your father said the Nova Stars are better than us! He’s taking sides!”

“Seek never takes sides. It’s laughable to think that he does.” Biggs Darklighter commented.

“Fixer, you’re blowing things way out of proportion here.” Luke said coolly.

“Oh really. You can act all calm, you just got a deal for four hundred credits!”

Most of the Nova Stars went extremely quiet as they realized that Fixer and Windy had listened in on their conversation. That was a capital offense among the bike groups.

“You listened to our conversation Fixer. You know what that means.” Luke murmured dangerously.

Fixer started to back away, but halted when he realized what he was doing.

Luke stepped forward and Fixer took a fast swing at him. Luke jumped out of the way neatly and in a move too fast to see, slammed Fixer in the jaw and the knee with his foot. A last high kick slammed Fixer right out the door.

Fixer growled and hissed at the closed door, “I’ll get you Skywalker. You just wait. And this time, I won’t be the one who is humiliated.”  
*-*-*-*-*-

Lord Vader and Admiral Pellaeon walked back into the Sun Surprise and Seek laughed and said, “He confirmed your deal that fast?”

“He should become a politician. He always ends things that quickly.” Seek laughed out loud at what he’d just suggested and added, “Better not say that to him.”

“Why?” Pellaeon asked curiously.

“ ‘Cause. He’s one of those Skywalkers. None of them are politicians. Not in their nature. They’re more pilots and military personnel than politicians.”

Vader just about told Seek who he was, but figured that he’d better not. He didn’t want his son to know about that just yet.

“I’ll get him. The blasted runt. He’ll pay and the price won’t be low.” A voice growled behind Vader.

He swirled around along with Pellaeon and Seek and Seek said calmly, “Who’d you get into a fight with this time Fixer?”

Pellaeon and Vader exchanged a glance. So this was the infamous Fixer, leader of the Black Aces.

Fixer muttered one word, “Skywalker.”

Vader snorted and was glad that the vocoder muffled the sound. He didn’t want to cause trouble with this kid, who looked mean and proud, two bad characteristics to combine.

“What’d he do to you?” Seek laughingly asked. He was amused that Fixer had lost, yet again, to someone who was half his size and twice as fast, not to mention lethal.

“Don’t know. Moves too fast. Think he slammed me in the jaw and then kicked me right out the door with a high kick.” Fixer snapped.

“A high kick?”

“Yeah. Practically brought his foot up level with his head.” Fixer hissed.

Vader and Pellaeon exchanged another glance. Luke was obviously athletic.

“Why don’t you call him by his first name?” Vader asked.

“What? Call that stupid _infidel_ by his first name? I’d rather cut my own tongue out than call him by his name.”

Vader hissed. _Infidel_ was a term that was used in a derogatory way for someone who was not a native to Tatooine.

“Fixer, watch your language or leave!” Seek snapped.

“Why? Almost everybody around here knows that his mother brought him here from off planet. Some place called Naboo.”

Vader stiffened, because Luke’s mother was from Naboo, which meant that his son had been born there.

The door chose that minute to bang open, which told them that somebody had swung it open with force.

Seek’s eyes followed the shadow upward and he gulped. “Yipe.”

“Yes I was born off planet Fixer, but it’s not your place to call me that. After all, weren’t you born on Mimban?” the voice said calmly.

Vader and Pellaeon glanced at each other yet again, recognizing that voice. It was Luke, although his voice was cooler and laced with an icy fury.

Fixer glared at him, but allowed him to pass without acting. He withdrew something from a pocket, but no one saw it. Fixer just waited for him to come back, certain that he would be avenged.

Luke slid out from where he had disappeared, carrying two additions to his appearance. One was a small ascension gun, which could lift the bearer up to five hundred feet. Two was the vibropike, a nasty weapon that Vader had thought was available only to the Royal Guards.

“Glad you got the gun. Made me nervous just to pick it up.” Seek muttered.

“Where is the gun from?” Pellaeon asked.

“Naboo.” Luke said casually.

He picked up the vibropike from where he’d set it on the counter and turned it on, ignoring the loud buzz that it made.

He neatly set his feet and abruptly swirled it, bringing it up, around and down without nicking the floor or his own face. Two elegant spins later, he neatly hooked it into the ground and used it to propel himself upward.

He nodded coolly to Fixer and left, saying to Seek, “Thanks for holding them. They’ll be useful.”

Seek smiled and asked, “Can you even shoot?”

In answer Luke spun around and looked for a small, out of the way target.

Fixer gave him a target when he chose that minute to leap at Luke, the dagger glittering in his hand.

Luke spun around and fired the ascension gun and a small bolt hit the dagger on the handle, searing Fixer’s hand and knocking the dagger out of his grasp.

Luke nodded at Fixer and left.

After a while Fixer left also, muttering something about getting a hypopatch for his hand to numb it.

“I usually don’t allow shooting in here, but he did it in self-defense. Also I kinda have a soft spot for the kid. He’s had a rough life so far.”

Pellaeon glanced at him quizzically and asked, “Can you explain that further please?”

Seek huffed a slight sigh and glanced at him, then he nodded swiftly.

“Like Fixer said back there, his mother brought him here from offworld. It was the Mid-Rim planet of Naboo. His mother was from Naboo also, real small and delicate, with a strong, regal accent. He was four and the most sensitive kid you’d have ever met at that age. He was taught to be polite by then, because he kept his eyes down as his mother rented one of our faster speeders. They got in it and she took off for the northwestern areas of the Jundland Wastes, to the moisture farm of Owen and Beru Lars.”

Seek sighed here, caught his breath and then continued. “Owen and Beru agreed to raise the kid, although Owen and the kid’s mother had a real shout match in the evening. She finally mentioned the kid’s father in one of the sentences and Owen agreed."

"A few years passed and Owen was still trying to beat the kid down, without much effect. The kid just stood there and listened to his shouting and angry comments with a serene look on his face, a look that told you that he was focusing on something else. Beru was the only thing that kept it from coming to a point sooner than it did."

"It came to a point two years ago, when the kid tried a friend’s speederbike without Owen’s permission and beat a recognized Imperial pilot at a race through Beggar’s Canyon. Owen was waiting for him and he was furious. Beru wasn’t in town that day, so she couldn’t stop him."

"The kid got off of the speeder, real pleased with his ride and Owen walked forward and just started shouting at him. Everybody stopped and listened in shock and horror at Owen’s words."

"The kid, meanwhile, was finally reacting to Owen. His fists were clenched white and he was real pale. Owen said something about the kid’s father and Lazuli’s jaw clenched."

"Owen shouted himself hoarse and the kid said six words and six words only. “You are a fool, Uncle Owen.”

"Owen attacked him, jumping forward and slamming the kid in the jaw and wrist, so hard that he was propelled into a wall hard enough to knock a normal human unconscious for days."

"He wasn’t, though. I thought the kid was strong-willed before, but not that strong. He stood up real slow, blood trickling from a cut on his mouth and said, “Go home Owen. Tell Aunt Beru she was wonderful to me. I’m never coming back with you. Not after that. My mother was a fool to trust you.”

"Then he turned and walked away, showing up weeks later in Mos Eisley, racing swoops and pods for various people. The Nova Stars took notice of him and he became a member unanimously. When the leader left the group, there was a speederbike race through the Stone Needle and Beggar’s Canyon and he won. He took over as leader of the Nova Stars and he’s been leading them to victory in races ever since.”

“Now you know why I feel sad for him sometimes. He’s been through a lot and it shows in how much he trusts people, which is not very. He’s more mature than usual for his age, in more ways than some.” Seek said, wiping a tear from the corner of his weather-beaten face.

Vader was quiet except for his breathing and he finally said, “Seek, do you know who I am?”

Pellaeon stared at him and he shook his head, telling Pellaeon without words that he was doing this for a reason.

“No. I don’t recognize your voice or anything. I mean, I know you’re Lord Vader but as a person--“

“I’m Luke’s father. Anakin Skywalker.” Vader calmly interrupted, watching Seek’s eyes widen as he stared at his old childhood friend, who was also a former slave.

“Anakin. Oh my, it’s been a while, hasn’t it?” Seek said in shock.

“Yes it has. Tell me. Where does Owen live exactly? I seem to have forgotten.”

“Five miles northeast of here. Can I ask you something?” Seek added.

“Sure.” Vader said, standing up.

“Who was Luke’s mother? She looked familiar.”

“The former Queen of Naboo, Padmè Amidala.”

Seek’s jaw dropped. “I knew I’d seen her somewhere before.”

Vader nodded. “Thank you Seek. We’ll be back before too long. I have to deal with Owen right away.”

He turned to Pellaeon and said to his Admiral, “Pellaeon, please stay here. I don’t want you to get in the middle of this _delicate_ conversation.”

Pellaeon gulped and nodded. He knew what Lord Vader meant by delicate. Owen was going to get into a vicious argument with a Sith Lord and an angry one at that.

Pellaeon felt no sympathy for him though; he was a shocked and pained as Vader was after that conversation with Seek.

He watched Lord Vader stride out into the night and swallowed as the speeder revved before taking off at a breathtaking speed.

Pellaeon shook his head, glad that he wasn’t called Owen Lars this particular night. Lord Vader could be ruthless when he was angry with you.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Lord Vader spun along in the speedercar, feeling his anger gather. His blood was even hot and he was furious at the way Owen had treated his son, which was not acceptable.

Luke was a sensitive child, in more ways than one. Vader had known that when he had seen how hardened and angry he was toward strangers.

He was mistrustful and Vader was furious with Owen for making him that way so young in his life. It was something that was hard to break and he wasn’t sure that he’d be able to, even if he did somehow get through to Luke.

Lord Vader tapped his fingers on the edge of the steering wheel and slammed it into the highest gear and pushed it even faster with the Force.

He parked it and leaped out, standing a moment to cool his fury down to an ember, an ember ready to spark.

He strode to the entrance of their moisture farm home, glancing at the simple arch without a door and then striding through without thinking to warn them.

“Beru, stay in the hall!” Owen shouted when he saw the monstrous form of Darth Vader standing in front of him.

He stared at the menacing form and snapped, “What are you doing here? I thought I told you when my father died to never come back here again!”

“I’m here to talk to you about the way you treated my son two years ago in Anchorhead.” Vader growled.

“Who told you about that?” Owen demanded, glancing back at Beru, who was curious at the mentioning of her nephew’s abrupt abandonment.

“Seek, who is an old slave friend of mine. He told me about your treatment of Luke and the way you were always trying to break him down.” Vader hissed.

“That brat deserved it. I was sorry that my punch didn’t kill him. He was a wretch, like his mother, acting all royal and dignified. He deserved what he got!” Owen started to say more, but Beru cut into it.

“You punched him!” she shrieked.

“Yes I did. The little brat deserved it. Just like his mother did when I hit her all those years ago! She left, didn’t she!”

Beru shot a terrified look at Vader, who had gone quiet when Owen had mentioned Padmè. She had felt sorry for the beautiful woman, who was strong and kind. She had to be strong, to go through all that she had.

“You what?” he said.

“I hit her! The stupid outsider deserved it. She thought that she could convince me! Like hell she could!”

“You should have never mentioned her. I might have been kinder than I’m going to be.” Vader said.

He knew Beru wasn’t involved in it, so he left her alone. He lifted one hand and flicked one of his fingers and Owen was propelled like a rocket from a cannon into a wall several times.

He walked forward and picked Owen up off the ground so that his feet were somewhere around the Dark Lord’s ankles and constricted his throat, tighter and tighter. Owen was beginning to feel lightheaded and then he grimly dropped him and ignited his saber at the same time, flicking it twice and searing the hamstring muscle in his left leg.

He did the same with the right and then shut off the saber and hooked it back to the belt.

He turned and went to the doorway and said to Beru, “Make sure that you tell him he’s lucky he has his life. I’m sorry that you had to hear all of that.”

“I’m glad I did. I’ve been thinking of divorce for a long time and that was what I needed to convince myself. That and how he treated Padmè. She was a wonderful person, so kind and gentle. Luke tried to defend her, but Owen bodily picked him up and pushed him out of the way.” There were tears in Beru’s eyes as she finished this.

Lord Vader walked over to her and said gently, “May the Force be with you, Beru Whitesun-Lars.”

Beru sobbed softly, then gathered her strength and nodded, saying calmly, “Thank you. May the suns never set on your horizons.”

Lord Vader hesitated when he heard the old Tatooine wish of good luck and fortune, but said right before he left, “And to you also.”

He walked up and stared at the twin moons, bathing the same planet equally with their light and walked over to the speedercar slowly, slipping inside and watching those two moons set for a long minute.

With a sigh he started the speedercar and put it into first gear, headed back to town. The steering wheel vibrated under his hands and he sped silently into town, parking it in front of the Sun Surprise.

The speedercar remained there, resting in the moonlight, the only visible inhabitant of the street that lonely night.  
* * * * *

The next morning Lord Vader and Admiral Pellaeon walked out to their speedercar, restless and ready to begin the day. They were to meet Luke out at a vaporator five kilometers southwest of here.

They knew the location of this particular vaporator; they had seen it yesterday on the way to the Nova Star’s hangout.

The speedercar zipped along to the spot, its engine humming quietly. They reached it with no problems, but waiting there already was Luke, sitting on the black speederbike that Vader had been admiring the day before.

He sat on it with a casual ease, relaxed and confident. The vibropike that he had purchased rested in a scabbard that was attached to the front side of the speederbike. The ascension gun rested in a holster at his knee, a testament to how fast he could draw it if needed.

“Follow me.” He said coolly.

He led them for many miles out that day, as hardened to long traveling as they were. They would stop occasionally and he’d jump off of his speederbike and look at the ground, which was usually bare. Occasionally there would be a footprint, but usually there was nothing.

He’d look up, shut his eyes for a second and then jump back onto the speederbike and lead them in a completely different direction.

Pellaeon doubted him sometimes during these unusual stops, but Vader never doubted him. Indeed, the dark lord often watched his son as he looked at these tracks.

It was clever and he knew that he was doing that for a reason, though what he couldn’t tell.

It perplexed Pellaeon, who had no idea why the young man would want to stop and glance at nothing in deep detail.

He led them like this for four days and on the night of the fourth day, he said calmly to Lord Vader, “The krayt dragon you’re following is named Beryl and she lives in a cavern right over the hill there. I’ll lead you to her, because the cave is rather easy to get lost in if you don’t know where you’re going. I’ve been in there before, because the dragon that I killed is her mate, Beris.”

Lord Vader turned around, saw Pellaeon snoring and then saw the slim form of their guide leaning against a formation of rock to his left.

“You don’t sleep much.” Vader commented.

“Don’t need to and never do around people I don’t know. You can thank my uncle for my being paranoid, by the way.” Luke said, his voice bitter and cold.

“Your uncle doesn’t sound like a nice person.”

“He’s not. My mother could have told you that. She was right, she always was.” Luke said calmly, sadly to someone who could read voices, like Vader.

“Your companion has a loud snore.” Luke added with a snort of laughter.

“He only snores when he’s really tired or he’s faking it.” Lord Vader said, a muffled baritone laugh barely making it past his vocoder.

“He must be really tired then.” Luke commented.

Vader nodded, then turned back to the two moons and listened to Luke, who was staring at a far away star from his perch on the cliff.

“My mother told me that you’ll never find two planets that are exact opposites like Tatooine and Naboo and she was right. She knew Naboo, its moods, flavors, sounds and sights. But she was never happy.”

“Why do you think that?” Vader asked curiously.

“She was always so distant, in a dreamy sort of way. Whenever somebody would mention the Clone Wars or her time as Queen, she would hush them quickly and then send me off. She was kind and beautiful, but sad.” His voice was soft and barely carried.

Lord Vader lingered on that and bitterly thought that he knew why she’d been sad. She had always thought that she’d lost him, after the fall.

He shuddered at the thought of it. His mental voice chose that minute to pipe up and say, _you didn’t fall, you fell. It’s in your past, as should be your hatred toward Obi-Wan. You were burned, but that shouldn’t hold you back. You have a son who thinks his father is dead. Correct those, tell him the truth._

 _Shut up_ , Vader mentally shouted at that tiny voice that had been bugging him for years now.

Yes Luke was his son and yes his fall was in the past, but no he couldn’t let go of his hatred toward Obi-Wan, the accursed Jedi Master who’d left him to die that day.

He looked at Luke sideways, smiling gently at the sight of his son resting against the hard rock cliff, looking up at the galaxy.

Why did his life have to be so complicated? He thought his life’s hope had ended the day Amidala had died in his arms, but he had gone on with his life. Like he had with his mother’s death and his master’s abandoning him.

He was strong in mind and spirit, but he was growing tired of the conflict and he wanted to end the flare that even he couldn’t deny was still light.

His son was so pure and uncorrupted though, that it was hard to try and extinguish it when his son was so full of light.

He’s had a rough life and lived through it, Vader mused thoughtfully. No thanks to Owen Lars.

Vader’s fist tightened at the memory, but he knocked it back and turned to the now awake Pellaeon, ready to start the new day and hopefully his last on Tatooine.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The day started off wrong from the beginning, Vader would later recall in observation.

For one, they had absolutely no way of lights except for the glowing moss on the paths that went out every ten minutes and stayed out for another four.

This made all of them a little tense and on edge, because the krayt dragons were well known for having a keen sense of sight and smell.

“Wonderful.” Vader had snarled sarcastically when Pellaeon had relayed Luke’s message from where he was in front of them during one of their pauses.

Luke had not been amused when Pellaeon had informed him of Vader’s answer, which had included a couple of Huttese curses and had meaningfully waited for Vader to catch up and had then said, “Be glad their hearing is horrible, otherwise they’d hear _you_ in two milliseconds.”

Vader had been completely speechless for two entire minutes and had then said, “You little. Hey! Wait up!” Because of the fact that Luke had left him behind.

Pellaeon had been laughing rather hard when Vader had caught up with the Admiral and had, choking with laughter, said to him, “Showed up by a fifteen year old. How funny!”

Vader had responded to that by conking him unconscious with the hilt of his saber, which had resulted in a brief pause while they waited for him to come back.

“You’re responsible for the delay again?” Luke had commented to Vader sarcastically when Pellaeon had told him the little story when he’d woke up.

Pellaeon had looked like he was going to die from laughing yet again, but Vader’s threatening growl and the fact that he waved the saber under Pellaeon’s nose made the Admiral shut up this time.

Beryl slept unknowing, her huge body bloated with her last meal of human flesh. Her breath was horrible and even Vader couldn’t filter out all of it.

Disdainfully he watched the bloated dragon sleep, trying to figure out how to kill her.

“Afraid?” Luke’s voice taunted.

“No. Just figuring out the best way to kill the stupid thing and maybe you at the same time.” Vader growled, silencing Luke’s comments for the moment.

 _Probably the best way to do this is to hit the underbelly fast and then hide until she calms down, then go for the head really, really fast. But what if she wakes too quickly when I slice the underbelly?_ Vader was trying to figure this out when he registered the fact that Pellaeon was shaking him and saying, “Sir! Luke’s down by the dragon’s head!”

“What?” Vader snapped.

“He’s down at the dragon’s head! He just took off, didn’t explain at all!”

Vader looked and cursed fluently in Huttese when he saw that Pellaeon was correct.

Luke was down by the thing’s monstrous head, moving carefully with the vibropike ignited in his hand.

He held it carefully and then moved past her head toward her giant tail, cautiously avoiding her dangerous claws.

In a sudden move Luke leaped forward and then Beryl roared in fury and pain, the roar shaking her chamber. Luke leaped away from Beryl and straight up, landing back on their ledge.

He managed to land in a standing position, then dropped extremely fast as she released a bout of flames, making Vader flinch.

Luke stood up and made the bad mistake of coming eye to eye with the angry krayt dragon. She locked gaze with him, taking complete control of his mind.

Vader used that opportunity to jump up and, igniting his saber, jam the blood red blade into the krayt dragon’s neck.

Beryl roared and tossed her head back and then she started to fling it around, trying to knock the determined Dark Lord off of her.

The blade was paining her deeply, that was easy for him to see. Vader grimly stayed on as she viciously shook her head, trying to knock him off and also trying to get that blade out of her neck.

“Beryl!”

Luke’s shout attracted the mad dragon’s attention and she hissed loudly.

“Do you recognize me?”

Luke held up his hand, the same one that Beris had scarred last year.

Beryl hissed furiously and leaped toward him. She landed and Luke jumped an incredible forty feet into the air, a rope dangling from his leg.

The rope had a loop in it that was around her foot and he grabbed one of her neck scales and swung over and under her neck, landing on a corner of the carved roof pillar and winding himself around it.

Luke collapsed, his left leg aching badly. He’d broken it sometime before, but he couldn’t allow it to overcome him. He jumped up and watched Lord Vader as the Sith Lord wrenched the saber sideways in her neck, trying to throw her off-balance.

Beryl fell slowly, hitting the floor with an awesome thud, throwing Vader ten feet. Vader stood up, walked over to the dragon and pressed the saber deep into her throat.

Beryl let out a choked roar of pain and fell back to the ground, dead.

Luke limped in Vader and Pellaeon’s direction, concealing his pain well.

“She’s dead sir?” Pellaeon asked.

“Yes Pellaeon.” Vader said, his shoulder aching from getting tossed about.

Luke’s leg was paining him horribly now, so he jumped up and landed on Beryl’s neck. He saw his vibropike and gave it an order to come back to him. It did and he turned just slightly, picking up Lord Vader’s still ignited saber and flicking it off, gave it to him.

Pellaeon detected a slight hesitation in his movements when he jumped off of the dragon’s neck and said to him curiously, “Are you all right? I saw you fall on your left leg after you looped that rope around Beryl’s neck.”

Luke looked up, his eyes a blue pain-filled glare. “I am fine, Admiral Gilad Pellaeon.”

So he’d finally recognized Pellaeon. Vader said calmly, “No you are not all right. You were limping just a second ago.”

“I never show my pain to strangers, Lord Vader.” Luke snapped angrily.

“I am not a stranger. I am your father.”

Luke’s blue eyes widened in complete shock when Lord Vader said this and his mind was denying it. _My mother told me that my father was dead!_ He almost shouted.

Lord Vader had said this to take Luke’s mind off of controlling his senses and he gently collapsed the young man with a well-controlled Force impulse.

“He’s going to be mad at you when he wakes up.” Pellaeon said with a grin as he pulled a small device used for checking for injuries out of his sleeve.

Vader glared at him as he ran the small and yet complicated machine over his son’s body.

“Exactly what I thought.” Pellaeon murmured. “He broke his leg in two places when he fell on it.”

Lord Vader’s eyes widened in surprise and he watched Pellaeon put a temporary SkinWrap on it to keep it immobile.

Luke jerked awake a few minutes after Pellaeon had finished wrapping it and had given him a hypospray to protect against infection and he noted the wrap and then swiftly remembered their two second conversation that had included the fact that Vader was his father.

 _Real tactful, Father. Now I know why you stayed in the military_. Luke shot this at Vader, including the title because he knew that it was true, however much it made him shudder.

Vader gave an amused snort of laughter when he heard Luke’s transmission, slapping down his gratification at the same second for the fact that Luke had actual said Father to him, instead of Lord Vader or Vader.

“Come on. We’d better get moving. I for one want to be dry again.” Pellaeon moaned pitifully at the end of this sentence.

Luke and Vader took one glance at each other and burst out laughing. The laughter echoed around the chamber and Pellaeon’s confused glance served only to send them into further hysterics.

“What?” Pellaeon groaned. “It’s not funny. I didn’t dry out for five hours after falling in that pool. I only dried as fast as I did because of Beryl’s fire breath. Which sucks, because now I smell like chewed up and digested human flesh.” He made a fake retching noise that sounded incredibly real and Luke almost burst out laughing again.

“Well we’d better get going.” Vader said easily and the three of them got up and walked away, Pellaeon still indignant and Luke still laughing.  
                      * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

They entered the main entrance of the cave again; this time returning and all three noticed immediately the fact that it was pitch dark and rather eerie.

Luke cautiously swung onto his speeder, unlocking the repulsorlift and turning on the lights for Pellaeon and Father, smiling at that fact.

Lord Vader and Pellaeon swung onto their speeders and they took off for town at a slower speed than they had come.

Luke was riding along slightly in front and nervously glancing around.

A detonator exploded in the exact middle of Pellaeon and Vader and they were thrown off of their speeders.

Luke halted his and frantically looked around for their attacker, his fighting senses screaming danger. He looked up and down, then to the right and it was then that his assailant slammed into him from a cliff to his left, something metal shining in the moonlight.

He gasped when he realized who it was and what their intent was. He was in a fight for his life.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Vader was swiftly trying to regulate his breathing. The after affects of the detonator were damaging to his systems usually, but this time they weren’t.

“Sir! Whoever threw that was after Luke. Look!” Pellaeon shouted.

Vader pulled himself up and whipped around.

Two figures were fighting violently, one with a dagger in hand. The one under him was trying to keep the dagger away from his throat and in the process got stabbed in the shoulder.

The yelp revealed that the one underneath was Luke and Vader cursed his inability to do anything. He couldn’t use the saber, because he might hit Luke.

Luke proved that he was strong-willed though. Any other person would have given up and succumbed to their fate by then, but he started to fight back.

When Luke’s assailant hesitated, Luke brought both legs under him and kicked his attacker into the air, using that momentum to propel himself onto his feet.

The figure that he was fighting cursed and jumped at him, dagger above his head, like a snake about to strike.

Luke grabbed his hand, trying to force it away from him, but the figure lashed out with his other hand, getting a slight scream from Luke at the extreme pain.

“He’s going to lose sir! His assailant has backup!”

The headlights of several speederbikes showed up and Vader heard a hoarse shout, “You quit attacking him! Now! Leave him alone.”

Luke’s attacker didn’t have backup, they were from Anchorhead and the leader was...”Seek!” Vader shouted in relief.

“That you Ani?” Was Seek’s reply.

“Yes! Do you know who Luke’s attacker is?”

“Nope. But we’re about to find out.” Seek’s familiar form appeared in the headlights of his idling speedercar and his burly form was a relieving sight for Vader.

“You kill that krayt dragon?”

“Yes. With quite a bit of help from Luke.”

“That’s good. Well, let’s see who this is...” silence.

The silence was from the townspeople, who were shocked at the identity of Luke’s masked attacker.

“Well, I never expected you to have the guts to do this, Fixer.”

For it was Fixer, leader of the Black Aces and hater of the Nova Stars and their leader.

“How’d you find me?” Fixer hissed, glaring at Vader.

“One of your members wasn’t too happy with the idea of you committing murder and he came to me and told me your plan to attack Luke Skywalker when he was leaving the krayt dragon’s cave. I gathered up some of the townspeople and came after you, trying to prevent you from doing something stupid.”

Luke coughed right then and Seek turned to him and set the kid on his back, so that he wouldn’t hurt himself. He waved to somebody and two medics came forward and slipped him onto a stretcher, stabilizing his injuries and then slinging him between their speederbikes.

They gave him a hypospray that knocked him out and took him straight for the Anchorhead medical center.

Vader sighed and collapsed in relief into the seat of Seek’s four-seat speedercar. Pellaeon slid into the back and Seek started them for Anchorhead.

Vader allowed his head to drop back onto the seat, glad and relieved that his son was alive.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Lord Vader stood at the foot of his shuttle two weeks later. He was glad that this adventure had come to an end, but he was going to miss Seek.

“Will you tell me about Fixer’s trial, Seek?” Vader asked his childhood friend.

“Sure. We’re going to miss the kid though.” Seek said sadly.

“He’s going to miss you too. He’d say that himself, but he’s still knocked out from the hypo that Pellaeon gave him.” Vader said with a laugh.

“Well, it was good to see you.”

“You too.” Seek said, struggling not to let his emotions show.

Lord Vader walked up the ramp of his shuttle and sat down by one of the windows. He looked out and saw Seek wipe a tear from his eyes before he turned away and was lost in the crowded streets of Tatooine.

Vader looked at his son and thought, _So there is a reason for me to live after all._

He could feel Amidala’s presence and she was pleased that Luke was with his father.

_Take care of him Ani. I miss you, but we’ll see each other again. I love you._

_I love you too Amidala_ , he thought at her before they disappeared into hyperspace, toward Coruscant and a future that was not completely shadowed.


End file.
